Dusky & Lovely

For decades, skin whitening has been popularized by the media by saying that fairer and lighter skin is seen as beautiful whereas darker skin is not. “Fair and Lovely” is a popular skin whitening cream in India that is marketed towards Indian women with darker skin. Indians use the term ‘dusky’ for dark skin and is often used in the negative sense. With this project, I wanted to reverse the meaning of the word ‘dusky’ into a more positive one along with celebrating women of color.

For decades, skin whitening has been popularized by the media by saying that fairer and lighter skin is seen as beautiful whereas darker skin is not. “Fair and Lovely” is a popular skin whitening cream in India that is marketed towards Indian women with darker skin. Indians use the term ‘dusky’ for dark skin and is often used in the negative sense. With this project, I wanted to reverse the meaning of the word ‘dusky’ into a more positive one along with celebrating women of color.

I interviewed ten different women, ranging in different ages and ethnicities, and asked them their thoughts on skin whitening treatments. Along with the interviews, I photographed each women with a background that is similar to their skin tone. By doing this, I wanted to highlight these women in showing that women of color are beautiful the way they are. The interviews were recorded on posters and in booklets.